Another week begins
Now, what are you going to do
To make yourself grow?
Tag: effectiveness
Watch “Seth Godin | Advice that Changed My Life” on YouTube
I just discovered Bryan Elliot’s YouTube series “Behind the Brand” with this video of Seth Godin. As I greatly admire Seth’s work, I went ahead and watched. I found it well worth my time, and feel it’s well worth yours. Overcome disappointment, and move forward.
Forward Motion
Keep moving forwards
Resist hiding from your fear
Let it give you focus
A Quote About Time
A good thing to remember. I struggle with this far too often. What about you?
Ownership is Empowerment
Ownership gives strength
The problems of someone else
Will never get solved
A haiku which considers the importance of owning our problems, and empowering ourselves to find solutions.
A Few Thoughts On Challenges
I’ve been asked, many, many times if “x” will present a challenge. And, far too often, the context of that is “kill the project”.And that’s the wrong thinking. EVERY project will have challenges. Internal, external, whether inertia or outright attack, things will rise.
Before running away from challenge, we need to remember value. What are we trying to bring to life with the project? And then dive deeper into the cause of the challenge. Can it be overcome? At what cost? Does this negate the value of the project?
I’ve bought into the notion that “everything in life is easy if you’re aligned with the universe”, and that “challenges are signs of divine disfavor”. Perhaps not quite as dramatic as this, but the point’s still there. Challenges shouldn’t be existential. Anticipate they’ll come and remember your why, and you won’t descend into fear driven chaos.
Keep your focus
My mind grinding forth
So very much to get done
Hey! Don’t lose focus!
I need to remember to “Sharpen My Saw”
I tweeted this earlier today:
I’m often challenged by the simple act of remembering to recharge, to care for myself. Then I’m puzzled by my exhaustion. #ThoughtForTheDay
— Carl Setzer (@CarlSetzer) August 7, 2018
So, here’s a bit more insight. I’ve known for years the importance of taking care of yourself. What’s called, in Franklin Covey parlanence, Sharpening Your Saw. This analogy states that the lumberjack who never sharpens his saw, doesn’t take care of his tools, slowly loses his effectiveness and, eventually, the tools, the saw in this case, fails.
It’s easy to get caught up in all the busyness of the world, of my modern life. My office is running pretty short-staffed right now. (If you’re interested in working with us, all our open positions have been posted on our Facebook page.) There’s so much to do, it seems indulgent to take some time for one’s self.
Yet, we…well, “I”…need to remember that not taking care of myself means decreasing effectiveness and eventual collapse. I’m not some strange superbeing who is exempt from all the rules that others are bound by.
I spent my morning journaling time considering this. Most of my refresh time has been reflexive. I want to shift to a more deliberate approach. The main reason is to avoid hitting the proverbial wall and THEN trying to figure out how I get more energy. No, I’m going to spend time daily doing things that feed my soul, that rejuvenate me and make me better. Substituting coffee (or worse) only creates a bigger problem down the road.
So, what do you do to recharge your soul? That gives you zip in the morning? I’d love to hear what works for you. I delight in hearing what inspires folks. So, drop me a note below.
Always seek to grow
Always seeking growth
And to manage all my fears
Become what I want
It’s frightening, at times, to always seek growth. It requires constant reminders to watch for fear, the temptation to be comfortable. As a writer and artist, I see how critical it is to push boundaries. Mine as well as others. Perhaps mine are the most important boundaries to smash through. Destroying that which holds me back, which robs me of joy.
I will resist fear
For I long to seek out joy
And find potential
I’ve let fear run my life far too long. Fear of failure, of rejection. This paralyzes, destroying opportunity. This I resist.